Horseshoes are currently fabricated from steel, aluminum or titanium. Steel horseshoes suffer from weight and bio-compatibility problems, but are inexpensive and easy for the furrier to fit to the hoof. Aluminum horseshoes are light weight but have poor strength and durability. Titanium horseshoes are light weight, but are not malleable and are fracture sensitive, and transmit shock without attenuation to the horse""s hooves. They also are good heat conductors, so heat from hot pavement is conducted readily to the horse""s hooves.
The horseshoe art has long needed a horseshoe that is light weight like aluminum and titanuim, but is durable, tough and strong for long life. It should also be corrosion resistant and bio-compatible with the horse""s hoof and not support mold, fungus or hoof rot, and it should be malleable at low temperature, preferably at room temperature, to facilitate the farriers work in fitting the horseshoes to the particular horse. A particularly valuable feature of such an ideal horseshoe would be thermal insulative properties so that the hooves would not get hot when the horse is obliged to stand on hot pavement or a long time. Finally, a horseshoe that absorbs shock and vibration would be of great value in protecting the horse from fatigue and injury caused by running or walking for long periods on had surfaces such as concrete, rock or asphalt, and it would be a quiet shoe.
Accordingly, this invention provides a horseshoe that is light weight, bio-compatible, and non-corrosive. It can be shaped at room temperature to fit the horse""s hoof, and is extremely durable for long life and infrequent shoe changes, which militates against shoe nail damage to the hoof. The inventive shoe has low thermal conductivity to protect the horse""s hoof from heat in pavement and other heated surfaces on which he may be standing, and it has a high specific damping capacity to protect the horse""s hooves and legs from shock and vibration and also makes it a quiet shoe. The horseshoe material has low initial yield strength, so it conforms to the micro-topography of hard surfaces such as concrete and rock, and improves the grip of the horseshoe on such surfaces, but when strained its yield strength increases greatly so it becomes effectively unbreakable. The low initial strength also offers some initial flexibility which allows the horse""s hooves to flex naturally when in motion, thereby promoting healthy hooves and legs. The horseshoe may be treated to have a hard, extremely durable integral ceramic surface that improves the heat insulative properties of the horseshoe and give it an attractive color such as gold, blue or black that will not wear off, and the ceramic material is an electrical insulator.
The invention includes a horseshoe made of Type 55 Nitinol, an intermetallic compound having about 55% Nickel and 45% Titanium by weight. The shoe blank and nail holes are laser cut from a sheet of hot rolled Nitinol material and then hot forged on Type 60 Nitinol tooling to give the horseshoe the desired final surface profile. Alternatively, the shoe is cast from Type 55 Nitinol using a xe2x80x9clost waxxe2x80x9d investment process. The formed or cast shoe is heat treated to give the desired properties of strength and toughness and to give it the desired integral ceramic surface finish.